FRUIT and vegetable traders at the Selayang wholesale market have welcomed Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) move to limit the number of foreigners at the site.

They told The Malaysian Insight that it will help put a stop to their “endless headaches” over the past decade due to illegal immigrants, who have taken control of stall lots and are trading openly in the  parking lot, squeezing out local traders.

Kuala Lumpur Vegetable Wholesalers’ Association president Wong Keng Fatt said only 30 of the 448 stalls in the market building are legal.

“This has been the situation for the past 12 years. It has gotten worse in the past three to four years. Even the parking lot has been occupied by illegal traders.

“Vendors have reported this to DBKL but when enforcement officers turn up, the illegals flee, only to return after the operation is over.”

He welcomed DBKL’s notice, issued on Sunday, that only foreigners with valid permits are allowed to enter the market and they must be accompanied by a Malaysian.

Those entering the market specifically to do business or for work must possess the necessary documents.

All who enter must get their temperature checked and register their name and contact information as part of efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19.

DBKL also said holders of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees cards are denied entry.

The notice, especially on refugees’ exclusion, led to migrant and refugee rights activists voicing their concern on social media.

However, Wong said this will resolve legal traders’ woes and give them peace of mind.

“Vendors will be more comfortable doing business. The market’s cleanliness will also be better, as some illegal traders have poor hygiene habits. They chew betel nuts and spit everywhere.”

Of the 30 legal stalls at the market, he said, 12 sell vegetables, fish (12) and fruits (6).

Kuala Lumpur Fruit Wholesalers’ Association president Chin Nyuk Moy hopes that DBKL’s new rules will lead to permanent improvements.

For one, it will stop the undercutting of prices by illegal traders operating in the parking lot, she said.

“Many customers choose to buy from them because it is convenient. The stalls are right there once customers get out of their cars.”

She said those who set up stalls in the parking lot were previously banned from operating in the market building and ordered out by the authorities.

“DBKL’s new rules should put a stop to their operations outside as well.”

The market was closed for several days in April and its surrounding areas placed under the enhanced movement-control order after Covid-19 infections were discovered, believed to have originated from a migrant worker.

Contact tracing revealed that he had attended the Sri Petaling Mosque tabligh gathering, the country’s first and biggest coronavirus cluster.

The market reopened on April 24 after it was shuttered for disinfection, and workers and residents in nearby areas were tested for the virus. – June 25, 2020.